There are 180 days until Missouri plays their first real game in the post-Blaine Gabbert era.
If one of those individual interim days means anything, Blaine’s younger brother may have greatly improved his chances of continuing the Gabbert bloodline under center for the Tigers.
Presumptive front-runner James Franklin completed 18-of-34 passes for 122 yards, a touchdown and an interception during a scrimmage this weekend. Tyler Gabbert — yes, Blaine’s brother — was 20-of-27 for 206 yards and a touchdown.
While one day in March doesn’t make or break a quarterback competition that won’t be decided for another few months regardless, it is another data point that very clearly states the new Gabbert isn’t simply leaning on his name to state his case. Of course, Gabbert was mainly working with and against the No. 2′s, while Franklin saw mostly the No. 1′s on both sides of the ball, so the stats should be taken with a healthy helping of salt.
For head coach Gary Pinkel, it seems as if the not-so-statistical body language as well as other undefinable traits of the players at that position is equal to, or greater than, any statistical production.
“I always use the term — you’ve heard me use it before — you get dirty out here,” the coach said. “Things don’t go well. For everybody, that’s what we call ‘whistle to snap.’ What do you do when the whistle blows, after the play is over, until the next snap? We watch that. We talk to all players and certainly our quarterbacks about body language, about leadership on the field. That’s all part of good quarterbacking.”
Before the start of spring practice, offensive coordinator David Yost praised Gabbert v2.0 for his mental grasp of the system.
“He’s got the least experience in the system, but he’s got a great knowledge of the system,” Yost said a week ago. “He’s worked his tail off this offseason studying. He knows what’s going on. He knows everything. Now it’s just a matter of playing the position and knowing, ‘OK, this is what this play looks like when I run it. This is what it looks like when I draw it on the board. This is what is looks like on video.’”
Based on at least one scrimmage, it appears Gabbert is mixing the mental with the on-field physical stuff. At the very least, it’ll be a very interesting competition to watch in the coming months.
The true test will be if he continues to work his tail off if Franklin is given the starting gig once the season starts.
Tough thing going to a school where your brother was a star QB and hoping to follow in his footsteps. Might have been better to do the Eli thing and go to a difference university. It will be impressive if Tyler can make a name in his own right.
It’s in the Gabbert genes. They make the other guy blink first. Tyler is making Franklin unravel the way his brother is making Newton unravel in the draft race. By not making mistakes.
Wouldn’t say Gabbert’s making Newton unravel. Just think Gabbert’s better prepared for the pros, a better-rounded QB. But I still like Mallett. It’s close for me, though, between Mallett and Gabbert. Like Mallett’s downfield accuracy but Gabbert’s more mobile. Newton is too inexperienced. I wouldn’t chance him as a high first-round pick. Wouldn’t gamble a first-round pick on any QB unless I had reason to think he could come in and play like Roethlisberger, Flacco, Bradford.
First off, Deb, Eli wasn’t too smart because while he avoided his brother by not following him to Tennessee, his dad was a legend at the school and his shadow was much bigger than Peyton’s so he didn’t avoid, anything. I think that it shows that Gabbert has a lot of confidence in his ability to follow his brother.
if the older gabbert is so hyped up by the media, how come mizzou didn’t win squat in the big 12?
Very true truwaror90. It won’t take much for the younger to best his older brother.
You guys are pretty tough on Gabbert, he did beat the #1 team, Oklahoma, last season & he was playing on a depleted Tiger team. They lost 5 players taken in the the top 2 rounds of the NFL draft in ’09 & ’10. That’s a lot to lose for a program like Mizzou. Did Auburn lose 5 top picks to the NFL? No, actually it was one, Ben Tate. yes, Bama, OU, Florida, Texas & a few more can sustain losses like that & still play for the BCS title. But lesser programs cannot.
Gabbert will be a fine pro, most likely not Sam Bradford or Matt Ryan, but exactly what have they won? Peyton Manning didn’t win dick at Tennessee but he turned out OK, as did his brother. Greg McElroy won the BCS title & he’ll never be an NFL starter, agreed? Just because a college QB didn’t win a conference title or the BCS doesn’t mean they won’t win a Super Bowl.